There’s been a great brouhaha in the press over Mattel’s apology to China — particularly over the allegations that Mattel apologized directly to its Chinese manufacturing partners.
It’s not a surprising reaction. This supposedly “Golden” year of the Pig is turning out to be more porcine than prosperous, thanks to the slew of recalls — especially [...]
As an avid nonsmoker, I was determined to have a smoke-free wedding in China. But my brother-in-law, Hao, had already bought one of the finest Chinese cigarette brands, and everyone in the family — even my mother-in-law — insisted on distributing them at the banquet. How can you ask your guests to refrain when you’re [...]
There was a Chinese saying: “no commerce, no evil”. Merchants were thought to be unscrupulous, and commerce was historically considered an ignoble industry in China.
This contemptuous attitude towards businessmen no longer exists in current China. Making money is given priority now.
However, problems come up when this priority may be the only consideration for many [...]
In the spirit of “summer reading list” frenzy that signals the start of the season, I’m jumping on the bandwagon.
Interested in learning more about business and marketing in China? Here’s a peek into what’s on my list for this summer and beyond.
1. One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in [...]
Posted in Brands, Business-to-business, China, China and Japan, China marketing, Chinese executives, Consumer, Culture, Holidays, National day holiday, Starbucks, Workplace on May 12th, 2007 3 Comments »
1. Open a store at the Great Wall.
We could learn a lot from Starbucks on this front. Their store in the Forbidden City has generated enough negative PR to warrant high-level government discussions on closing it for good. Why? Because the move was perceived as an imperialistic invasion into one of China’s most sacred and [...]
Posted in Banking, Business-to-business, China, China business book reviews, China marketing, Chinese executives, Culture, Financial industry, Retention, Strategy on April 22nd, 2007 No Comments »
Mr. China: A Memoir is a book for all of us who have ever longed to “crack” the China market and Chinese culture — and come out as the ultimate “Old China Hand”. “But in the end, it’s an illusion” states the author Tim Clissold of this pursuit. He should know — he’s gotten about [...]
Our guest article this week comes from Gary Baney, CEO of Boundless Flight. Managing Chinese hires is an important part of a corporation’s reputation and impression in China. Gary shares somes of his practical and valuable insights on this topic.
Here’s Gary:
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One of the reasons many companies have hesitated to hire Chinese national employees is their [...]
Posted in Brands, Business-to-business, China, China marketing, Chinese New Year, Chinese executives, Consumer, Culture, Holidays, Marketing on December 23rd, 2006 1 Comment »
Ginseng. Vitamin supplements. Top-shelf liquor. Fancy snack foods. These might be a few of the things gracing my shopping list as gifts for Chinese New Year.
Ginseng a gift?
You bet. Ginseng, one of many treasured remedies in Chinese medicine, is a welcome gift for more senior folks. As are any number of nutritional and vitamin [...]
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